My Wish
by Fear Fades Hope Lives 4Ever
Summary: Character death. ...Naruto-centric.


My Wish

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Summary: The only thing he desired was what they wanted. After all, by giving in he was finally letting himself be selfish. One-shot. Character Death. Possible Continuation.

~Surprise~

_His breath escaped him in quick, raspy puffs of vapor and his feet hit the ground in a sequence of slaps that seemed to echo as he ran. The buildings were a blur to him and faces unrecognizable as he ducked and weaved through the small crowds that were still out. Rain pelted him in cruel torrents and made it hard for him to see, crying out when he slipped in some mud. _

_He scrambled back to his feet and kept running, sparing a small glance back to see that he was still being followed._

_'Run. Faster. I have to get away.'_

_Turning around a corner sharply, he wasn't able to stop himself before barreling into the trashcan with the edge cutting into his skin. Whimpering, he fell to the floor and grabbed it, eyes wide when a sickening chill ran up his back. He froze, slowly turning around and gazing into a pair of silver eyes._

_**Stay where you are.**_

Gasping, Naruto sat up straight and scrambled from under his blankets, cerulean eyes wide as they frantically looked around the room. His breathing slowed when he saw that he was by himself and slowly relaxed. _'Why do I keep on having that dream?'_ The blond thought, getting up off the bed and shivering when his heated skin touched the cold wooden floor as he made his way out of the room. He headed down the hall, mutely pausing as he glanced into the living room where nothing but an old couch, molting chair, and half-broken coffee table occupied it. Other than one window - taped and boarded up - the walls were completely bare.

Turning away, he stepped into the kitchen and hissed softly at how much colder the tile was then the rest of the floor in his apartment. The jinchuriki grabbed a nutrition bar that he had hid under the sink and sat down on the counter, looking at the time as he munched on the snack. _'Seven o'clock, huh? The party should be starting in about two hours then.'_

His hand clenched as he remember when Iruka-sensei had told him that all of his friends were going to thrown him one. After all these years, he was finally going to actually _celebrate_ his very _first_ birthday and yet he couldn't find the energy to be excited about it. Naruto couldn't even remember the last time he had been happy about it.

_'It's hard to be excited about a day that everyone hates you for.'_ And it was true, to be born the day where a hero and so many other loved ones died was a curse. He could remember when he was a child and how much he hadn't wanted to be alive anymore. The thought hadn't bothered him once he became a genin but once the Chunin Exams came around and everything started to fall apart, it started showing up again. His so-called friends and teammates even agreed with him, even if they didn't know it. To tell the truth, there were so many times in his life that he had wished that the Yondaime hadn't sealed Kyubi away and had just let the village be destroyed.

His goal to become Hokage had never been a real one though it always warmed him to know that there were a few people who had come to believe it. _'Not like it matters anymore, I've long since given up on that dream.'_ It had taken him six years after he had turned twelve to realize that was what it had always been. _'A dream. Nothing more and nothing less.'_ Now that he had finally faced that truth, Naruto decided he would finally go through with the one thing he always wanted but never allowed himself to have.

Finding that he had finished the nutrition bar, the blond stood up and threw the wrapper away before making his way to the bathroom. On the way, he would glance at each spot that an exploding tag had been put and hidden with a simple concealing jutsu. His body felt numb as he closed the door behind him and bent down to reach under the sink to grab five large red containers with each having a long nozzle. Standing, he poured the contents of each jug into the bathtub until they were empty. When he was about to bend down again, his reflection in the mirror made him stop and slowly he inspected himself.

Once bright sky blue eyes had dulled into that of a pale blue as they gazed tiredly back at him, tanned skin blemished only by the three whisker marks that decorated both cheeks. Limp blond hair hung in place of once vivid golden-yellow spiked locks that had helped recognize him as an idiot and demon. Something to even this day he could not see but only feel. _'Enough of this.'_ He thought, shaking his head and he bent down to reach around the toilet to grab something taped to it. Standing, he examined the kunai to see that the years of use had turned it from sleek and sharp to dull and rusty before walking back over the tub and sinking into the gas.

He coughed at the overpowering smell and teared up a little, ignoring it as he held out his left arm, wrist visible. There was a small moment of hesitation before with one quick slash, his blood began to drip in small but quick rivulets.

_'What made me think I could become Hokage?'_

Another.

_'I hate wearing orange so people can see me.'_

Again.

_'Ramen is the most disgusting thing ever.'_

Naruto flared his chakra, activating the exploding tag and even from here, he could hear the the hiss. What he couldn't hear or feel though was the multiple signatures that were heading his way seeing as he hadn't noticed how much time had passed.

One more.

_'I wish I really was loud and obnoxious that way this wouldn't hurt so much.'_

It hurt when he changed hands.

_Ayame-ne-chan, Old man Teuchi, I really did like your food at one point.'_

He was bleeding worse on this wrist than the other one. Tears were coursing down his cheeks and he was biting his lip but he didn't notice. He didn't want to notice.

_'Old man Hokage, Tsunade-ba-san, Shizune-ne-chan, Ero-sennin, I really am nothing like I made you believe, huh?'_ The thought of the old pervert had him sobbing softly.

The blond could feel his hands beginning to go numb and he gave one more flare to the exploding tags. Naruto literally felt the building shake as the blast went off and flames erupted through the apartment. The bathroom door blew apart, a piece flying into the oil and igniting it.

_'Sasuke-teme, Sakura-chan, I was a horrible teammate that held you back, huh?'_

His eyesight was beginning to weaken and he was feeling lightheaded.

_'Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei, You wasted all that time to try and teach me.'_

He felt lethargic, his heartbeat slowing as the flames began to burn him.

_'Rookie Nine, Team Gai, Gaara, Konohamaru Corps., I'm such a dead last, sorry.'_

He had barely been able to finish the last slash.

_'Nine slashes, how ironic.'_

The thought had him chuckling lightly before he began coughing because of the fume as well as the spike of demonic chakra that signaled Kyubi's awareness. _'There was nothing he could do though.'_ Naruto let his head fall back and he closed his eyes, letting his arms drop.

It was when everything started to slow and quiet that he had to wonder if people hallucinated when dying. After all, there was no way Sasuke-teme was busting through one of the bathroom walls and was submerging his arms into the burning oil to pull him out, his eyes wide and panicked.

_'That's not the teme I know.'_

"Naruto!"

**Not yet.**

**I won't let you die yet, Naruto.**

End chapter.

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